Protests in Macedonia will continue even if the initial demands of demonstrators are satisfied, since it is another ‘color revolution’ style attempt to overthrow the government, Mike Jones the editor of Culture Wars magazine told RT.

Protests in the Macedonian capital Skopje on Monday saw people demanding the government resigns. The first nationwide rallies started almost two months ago following Macedonia’s decision to pardon leading officials involved in a large-scale wire-tapping scandal. Attempts by Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov’s to revoke the pardons failed to satisfy the crowd.

RT:The Macedonian president revoked more pardons of those involved in the wiretapping scandal. Why is this not stopping the protests?

Mike Jones: Because it’s not a real protest. If this was a strike and the company came back and raised the wages, the strike would be over. This is a color revolution of the sort that spread throughout former communist countries it is an attempt to overthrow the government and so they are not going to be satisfied with changing the conditions that started the operation in the first place.

RT:We have seen a lot of police on the streets during these rallies. Does this mean the government feels threatened?

MJ: Yes, they should feel threatened. First of all, we have to ask a question: what is Macedonia, by the way? It is a country that came into existence in 1991; it used to be a province in Yugoslavia. Now, why is it a country? Why is Bosnia a country? Well, because NATO, the US, Germany decided to dismember Yugoslavia, because it was a threat to their interest, and also because Serbia, which was the remaining country had ties with Russia. Now that the NATO aggression against Russia is stalemated in Ukraine – we now have the ‘Ukrainization’ of Macedonia – it is just opening up another front in the same war.

RT:Do you believe these protests can be halted without the current government stepping down?

MJ: No, they want to install a pro-Western government. They want to isolate Serbia more and more. They want to eliminate whatever Russian influence there is in the Balkans. That is the goal. So any concessions would just lead to further demands. I don’t see that leading anywhere.

RT: How do you think these anti-government rallies could affect the prospects for the country joining the EU or NATO?

MJ: The anti-government protest is a step toward joining NATO and the EU. This is their way of forcing the issue. That is the way I perceive it. I don’t see any other reason. They want to accelerate the dismemberment of what is left of Serbia and what was left of Yugoslavia – and thereby eliminate Russian influence from the Balkans. I don’t think there is any other explanation for what’s going on.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.